Unnecessary Miracles--May 28, 2020
"When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, 'Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?' He said, 'Yes, he does.' And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, 'What do you think, Simon? From who do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?' When Peter said, 'From others,' Jesus said to him, 'Then the children are free. However, so that we do not give offense, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me'." [Matthew 17:24-27]
So... this is a weird story, isn't it?
It's one of those strange episodes, like the turning of water into wine at the wedding in Cana, where it almost feels like Jesus is just doing magic tricks. These moments are pretty rare in the Gospels, actually. Usually, if Jesus performs some sign or wonder, it is an act of healing, or even of resuscitation, that relieves another person from disease or distress, or even death. Those kinds of miracles somehow feel necessary--like if you are Jesus, and you have divine power to help someone, you do it. But this episode, about a coin that seems to appear out of thin air (or water) in a fish's mouth, in order to pay a temple tax, well, it just seems kind of frivolous. Doesn't it?
I mean, honestly, this just seems like an...unnecessary miracle. For one, Jesus seems to insist in his one-on-one conversation with Simon Peter that he is exempt from having to pay the temple tax, presumably because he is the Son of God, and therefore doesn't need to make a contribution for the temple, which is like his dad's house. So, if he wanted to stand up for The Principle of "You-Can't-Make-Me-And-Neither-Can-Anybody-Else" this would have been the chance for Jesus to dig his heels in and refuse to pay the temple tax. (I suppose, too, that I would like to imagine that Jesus could have just paid the tax out of his wallet, but then I realize that Jesus was pretty much penniless all his days, even if I would rather picture him as an up-and-coming member of the upper-middle class. He is not that.)
And there is the snag for me: Jesus, the almighty Son of God and Messiah of Israel, is the one person who shouldn't have to pay the temple tax, as both the embodiment of the New Temple and as the very embodiment of the fullness of God. It is absolutely within his "rights" not to pay the temple tax. And, if he really wanted to pull rank, Jesus could have just refused to pay... or used a messianic Jedi-mind trick to make the collectors go away... or called down an angel army to threaten anybody who gave him any pushback. In short, Jesus could have been a jerk about this.
But he wasn't. Jesus deliberately chooses not to take the "Be A Jerk About This" option from behind Door Number One. He pays the temple tax. He bears the inconvenience of it. He goes out of his way when he theoretically could have avoided it. And even though he makes it clear to Simon Peter that no one can force him to pay this tax, he seems almost intentional about making Peter see that he is choosing NOT to be a jerk. Jesus refuses to lean on the Principle of "You-Can't-Make-Me-And-Neither-Can-Anybody-Else," and he uses this as a teachable moment so that Simon Peter can see that Jesus complies with the tax, not because he is afraid to refuse, but because he refuses to be a horse's rear-end about this matter. Jesus, in short, refuses to be a jerk, for the sake of avoiding the wrong kind of scandal.
Mind you, Jesus is perfectly willing to cause the "right" kinds of scandals--he's willing to go to the mat for his policies of healing on the sabbath, or eating with sinners, or touching the untouchable, or loving his enemies. He is absolutely willing to ruffle feathers by going toe-to-toe with the Respectable Religious Crowd and will even hold his own with the Roman governor Pontius Pilate himself. But here, in this moment, Jesus doesn't want to be a jerk... and so he comes up with a (rather creative) solution to the situation and complies with what is asked of him.
And, lest we protest that Jesus can't care about "offending" people, because we don't think that Jesus would care about what is "politically correct," let me note: Jesus himself here says he is trying not to cause undue offense (the Greek word is literally something like "cause a stumbling block" or "start a scandal", but it's the same gist). Jesus says his reasoning for paying the tax is that he is trying to avoid being a jerk, and that if he has to choose between not being a jerk on the one hand and demanding "his rights" because he can, he is going to choose not being a jerk every time. He is willing to speak up and be a troublemaker for the sake of others, but you'll never find Jesus shouting, "You can't make me, and neither can anybody else" for his own interests. That's just so piddling and petty, and Jesus always has bigger fish to fry than that.
That says something really important. For a lot of my life, when I heard or read this story (not that it was a frequently told one on the ol' Sunday School flannel board), I usually assumed the point was to demonstrate how powerful Jesus is. I heard it mostly as Matthew saying, "See how authoritative Jesus is? He can make coins appear in the mouths of fishes--that PROVES he's the Messiah, and that he doesn't have to pay the temple tax!" But I don't think that's really the point Jesus is trying to make here. He does point out to Peter (but note--not to the tax collectors) that he could pull rank on this one, or demand his rights and insist that he won't pay the tax for the upkeep of the temple. But then he deliberately sets up a plan to pay it anyhow, without ever registering his protest with the authorities. I think this is less a lesson of "Jesus is powerful enough to make coins appear in marine life," and more a moment to see "Jesus refuses to be a jerk... ever."
It seems this story is less about the parlor tricks Jesus can do, and more about Jesus' way of bringing life to others rather than to demand what is easiest, most convenient, or makes him look strong. And honestly, I think that's more what I need to hear in days like these. Honestly, there's never going to be a time when my go-to gut response is, "Should I call on God to plant a quarter in a trout so I can get out of a parking ticket?" but there are LOTS of times when I need to remember that followers of Jesus don't get to choose the Jerk Option behind Door Number One. There are going to be lots of times in this life when it is tempting to insist, "You can't make me, and neither can anybody else!" and to make a big fuss over what we refuse to do, just because we can make a fuss. But in those times, I should be clear that Jesus never takes that road. If I insist on walking it, I will have left the way of Jesus. That will be part of why I will keep working on being willing to be inconvenienced with long lines at the grocery store... or wearing a mask even when it fogs up my glasses... or not lashing back at someone who has said a mean thing on social media somewhere... or giving the benefit of the doubt to people I have a really hard time with liking. And it's why I am convinced that Jesus is going to keep pushing me to take the time to listen to people even when I don't agree with them... and to refuse to reduce them to a caricature or straw-person argument... and to keep myself from petty name calling as much as I would like to sometimes. These things are not options for us... because we are followers of Jesus, who made a pretty big point of not trying to cause unnecessary offense, and who went to the trouble of an unnecessary miracle in order not to be a jerk.
Maybe today, I can look for ordinary ways not to be a jerk, too. I already have the pocket change.
Lord Jesus, keep us from being jerks. Even when it's hard. Even when we think it would be fun. Pull us along on your way.
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